The send off was magnificent, and you can look it up. You can look up his wonderful final game at Yankee Stadium last Thursday night, you can look up his stats. What you cannot count is the enormous amount of smiles his play created. You cannot count the kids who have decided to turn away from steroids and drugs b/c of Derek Jeter and you cannot estimate what would have become of the game of Baseball had a kid from Michigan not come back to his birthplace and handled the hardest city to succeed in sports after the strike debacle, and the during the "Steroid era".
Competitive, and talented, but at the end, what he had mostly, was Class. He had it in kilograms. He had it in tons. He shared it with the rest of us. He didn't jam it down our throats, he didn't say "look at me! I'm the one to emulate." He just did his thing as best as he could in quiet dignity, everyday, and in doing so, taught another generation about "the code". What code? The code of being a man: work harder, be responsible and take responsibility, take ownership. Treat others,ALL OTHERS, as you would wish to be treated, laugh, know whom to trust and remember that a secret stays a secret when only one person knows it. Conduct yourself in all matters, as if everyone is watching, do not burn bridges, be loyal to a fault, be honest, be humble, be appreciative. Know your value but do not wear it on your sleeve, listen to others, set the example and set your personal bar high, remember, your mom is watching, but moreover, so are the children, the men and women of the next generation.
Respect, the game, your team, your teammates and your fans, your woman, your kids, and mostly respect yourself, and you too will earn #Re2pect. Thank you Captain.
